Acts 23:9-19

9 And there occurred a great uproar; and some of ¹the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, "²We find nothing wrong with this man; ³suppose * a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

10 And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ⁴the barracks.

11 But on ⁵the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "⁶Take courage; for ⁷as you have ⁸solemnly witnessed to My cause * at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ⁹the Jews formed a conspiracy and ¹⁰bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

13 There were more than forty who formed this plot.

14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, "We have ¹¹bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul

15 "Now therefore, you and ¹²the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case * by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place."

16 But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered ¹³the barracks and told Paul.

17 Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, "Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him."

18 So he took him and led him to the commander and said, "Paul ¹⁴the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you."

19 The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately *, "What is it that you have to report to me?

Cross References

• 1. Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30
• 2. Acts 23:29
• 3. John 12:29; Acts 22:6f
• 4. Acts 21:34; Acts 23:16, 32
• 5. Acts 18:9
• 6. Matthew 9:2
• 7. Acts 19:21
• 8. Luke 16:28; Acts 28:23
• 9. Acts 9:23; Acts 23:30; 1 Thessalonians 2:16
• 10. Acts 23:14, 21
• 11. Acts 23:12, 21
• 12. Acts 22:30; Acts 23:1, 6, 20, 28
• 13. Acts 21:34; Acts 23:10, 32
• 14. Ephesians 3:1

Footnotes

• [a]. I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops
• [b]. Or "mob"
• [c]. Lit "with"
• [d]. Or "Sanhedrin"
• [e]. V 10, note 1
• [f]. Or "having been present" with them, "and he entered"
• [g]. V 10, note 1
• [h]. V 10, note 1
• [i]. V 10, note 1